


What is and what should never be

by Katie237



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: AU 3x23, Badly injured Barry, Bart Allen try to fix the timeline, Hurt/Comfort, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-05 13:10:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14044962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katie237/pseuds/Katie237
Summary: Slight AU3x23 - It wasn't supposed to happen, Savitar was supposed to be defeated, Barry wasn't supposed to be wounded and dying. The timeline is shifting. With the future and his own existence on the line, Bart travels back in time to try and fix what was broken (Short story)





	1. Bart Allen

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea in my head before the finale even aired so I just adjusted it to match the season 3 finale. It's just a little re-writing of the 2nd part of 3x23, with Bart Allen in it. I wrote this chapter a bit fast because I needed to get this idea out of my head and take the edge off from my other story. So please be kind if there's more grammar errors than usual and remember that English is only my 2nd language.
> 
> I know there's already a lot of Bart stories in here, hopefully you'll like this one too :)

Of course Savitar was going to give it a shot at killing, blowing, them all away. What was Barry thinking when he tried to talk Savitar into joining their team? Savitar might've been Barry one day, he might've been the Flash a long, long time ago, but he was too far gone to be saved. Now, by bringing the evil speedster inside the lab, Barry put all of his friends at risk, again. But, to be fair, if putting a bomb inside the lab had been the God of Speed's plan from the start, Savitar would've found a way to do it, with or without Barry opening the doors of the lab wide open. Never had Barry been more grateful that Wally was now a speedster, he never would've been able to get everyone out in time on his own.

Central City's hero sprinted Julian and Harry out while was Wally was taking care of Joe and …Tracy. Oh God, Iris! After spending months trying to save her, Flash realized with horror that his fiancé was the one person they left in the cortex. Sprinting back inside at full speed, Barry grabbed the woman and ran, sensing his body ache under the all-out effort. He felt the explosion, he felt the force of it pushing his body and the heat scorching his back, but kept going until he was finally outside.

Barely making it outside, he looked in shock the building that slowly became his second house get illuminated by the white blast. His ears were ringing and he was breathing hard from the rage and …pain? His legs were shaking and his back felt like it was on fire, but it didn't matter, it was going to heal fast enough. Right? Someone was screaming his name, maybe more than one person. But somehow all of it sounded so distant, it sounded like it was coming from a distorted voice.

''Barry?''

''Barry? Man? You ok? ''

''Barr! BARR?!''

Barry felt his knees go weak and his vision getting blurry as the gravity attracted him toward the ground at an accelerated speed. The last thing he was aware of before passing out was a pair a hands grabbing his shoulders, trying to steady him.

*****FLASHFLASHFLASH*****

''How is he?'' Asked Joe for the hundredth time since they brought his son back to the apartment he was sharing with Iris.

''How am I supposed to know?'' Answered Julian, frustrated, leaning over his patient. He wasn't a doctor, he was no more than a mediocre medic, at best. No wonder they lost Caitlin to Killer Frost when he tried to operate on her. And even if he was a doctor, how was he supposed to diagnose what was wrong with Barry without any equipment? Everything they had at S.T.A.R. was either destroyed or not operational anymore.

Passing his hand in his short hairs, Joe exhaled in worry, walking a couple of steps away from the apartment's bed, brushing his daughter's shoulder in his way. A fact that the young woman barely even noticed, all her attention going to her too-still fiancé,

The philosopher's stone wasn't done doing damage on their base when Barry collapsed on the hard ground with a loud thud, barely avoiding to hit his head on the pavement thanks to Iris slowing down the fall at the last moment. Nobody could explain what happened; other than the burned marks on the young man's back, there was no sign of injuries to explain why Barry fainted. The team managed to take the speedster back to his bed where he was now laying on his side, shirtless, poorly made bandages covering his still un-healing superficial injuries. On the bright, while his skin was pale and his temperature low, his breathing and pulse were still strong and regular. For now.

''Why isn't he healing?'' Said Wally, pointing out the obvious, walking in circles in the room.

''I don't know.'' Answered Julian, worried, straightening up. They needed someone with real medical knowledge and real knowledge of the speedster's healing abilities. They needed Caitlin.

''It's just superficial, he's going to heal.'' Said Iris, trying to sound confident, way more than she was feeling, desperately needing, and waiting, for someone to agree with her. Preferably someone who had real arguments.

''We could take him on my Earth.'' Proposed Harry, standing in the back of the bedroom. ''I have medical equipments in there and some personal who knows a thing or two about this stuff..''

''And give away that my son is a speedster? I don't think so.'' Argued Joe.

''I don't wanna sound selfish right now.'' Added Julian, looking away from his patient. ''But, what about Caitlin? And Cisco? We need to deal with Savitar before he has the time to do whatever the hell he's planning to do before vanishing.''

Julian was right, they needed to take care of Savitar, stop Caitlin and save Cisco. All of that was now resting on Wally's shoulders.

''Son.'' Started Joe, seriously turning toward the last standing speedster. ''You think you're up to the task?''

''Yes, I am.'' Answered Wally without missing a beat.

Rush of wind and lighting entered the room in the next moment, announcing the arrival of a speedster, making everyone tensed up. Savitar? Had to be. But, no, it wasn't him. It was, a young man in his early 20s, with dark short hair, wearing a red and white speedster suit, complete with red gloves and goggles.

''No, you can't do it.'' Said the speedster, without wasting any breath on introduction.

Just what they needed right now, a new, unknown, speedster and yet, weirdly enough none of Team Flash felt their life being threatened by his presence. There just was something so familiar about that man. It still didn't stopped Joe from instinctively and swiftly position himself between the new arrival and his unconscious foster son, his hand ready to go reach for his gun's handle in an instant. Wally snorted, advancing right in front of the new speedster, arms crossed on his chest in defiance. Who was that person? Who did he thinks he was, coming in and criticizing his abilities like this?

''Who are you?''

''My name is Bart…I'm coming back from the 30th century to warm you that the future is shifting. The future is in danger.''

''Seriously, mates.'' Said Julian, advancing next to Joe and addressing his team. ''How many evil speedster from the future have you pissed off?''

''I'm here to help you.'' Said Bart, unphased by the accusations. ''If Barry Allen dies, it's going to push off the first domino leading to a very dark path that we can't let it happen.''

''Why should we trust you?'' Rudely asked Harry.

''Allen isn't going to die from a couple of burns.'' Added Julian to defend Harry's point. There's no way they were going to put Barry's life, all of their lives actually, into some unknown speedster pretending to be from the future. It was all mind games.

Of course the team's skepticism was understandable, but it didn't stop Bart from being slightly annoyed.

''Wells, from what I understand, you became part of the team because Barry gave you a blind chance. And, Mr. Albert-'' He looked at Julian straight in the eyes, seriously adding: ''It wasn't just a normal blast. When the Philosopher stone exploded, part of that stone entered your friend's body and it's affecting his Meta's cells, that's why he's not healing and that's why he's going to die if we don't do something. ''

Iris gasped at the words, this speedster had to be lying, it had to be a trick. But, why else would Savitar just leave like that unless he knew he just needed to slightly injure Barry to kill him and take his past self into the abyss of death with him? Right next to her, Harry was frowning, something was still off about this new character, there was definitely something important that Bart wasn't sharing with them.

''Arg.'' Suddenly groaned Bart, victim of a sharp and sudden pain, bringing his left hand to his forehead, eyes closed in agony, his body tensing up badly.

Julian moved forward, grabbing the speedster other's arm to try and keep him stable while Wally uncrossed his arms, undecided about this turn of event.

''Bart? Are you ok?'' Asked Joe.

The yell of pain that came next was coming from a speedster, but not the one standing and the intensity of it sent chills in everyone's spine.  _Coincidentally_ , at the exact same moment that Barry's pain seemed to grow, Bart's hand turned ghostly.

''Oh God. '' Whispered Julian. ''What's wrong?''

''It's….arrgg...Barry. I…to…d…you.'' Articulated the new speedster with difficulty.

''If Barry dies, so do you.'' Instantly understood Harry.


	2. The Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time is gonna run out fast for Barry, so the team must decide their next move and if they should or shouldn't trust Bart

Even in his unconscious state, Barry couldn't stay still and kept on shifting and moving on the bed 'til he was lying on his back, desperately trying to escape the pain eating him from the inside out. The next second, he was arching his back and clawing at the sheets under him while a deep growl erupted from deep down in his throat.

''Hey hey, Barry, calm down.'' Gently tried Iris, caressing her fiancé's hairs with his left hand while her other hand was busy struggling to keep him as still as possible. Rushing in, Wally and Joe joined their strength, on each side of the bed, to help her immobilize the hero. Or at least try as hard as they possibly could as Barry reacted to their touch with more violence, trashing like a wild animal.

''Can you hear us, son?''

Nice try, but the boy was completely out and unable to hear any of it as he was heavily breathing and moaning in obvious discomfort. But he still slowly started to give up on the fight and relax a little, allowing the men to slowly turn him back on his side, instantly relieving the pressure off his burned flesh. The effect was instantaneous; his screams decreased slowly and his breathing pattern started to get back under his control. The best indication that he was back to a more stable state was the way the second's speedster hand materialized once more and he was able to get out of Julian's grip, standing on his own power.

Leaning forward, Joe hissed as he touched the Flash's forehead and pulled away.

''He's burning up. I'll go bring some water and cloths.'' He said, quickly walking between Harry and Bart, brushing the younger speedster's shoulder on his way out.

''He's not going to get any better like that. We need to act, fast.'' Pressed Bart as he was strongly massaging his right hand with the other one.

''How did this happened? How do we fix it?'' Asked Wally, getting up, once he was sure Barry had calmed himself from now, and returning his attention to the group's discussion.

''Look, its' hard to explain, but now that Savitar is a living paradox, everything he does has the power to change the timeline and shift it around. His last action at the labs caused the biggest shock yet. If we don't act now, Barry will die, so will I. ''

''What are we supposed to do?'' Inquired Iris, still softly playing with Barry's hair and bringing him all the small comfort she could at the moment. There's nothing she wouldn't have given right now to have Caitlin back in the team, she would've found a way to help Barry. She always managed to find a way.

''We need to set things right, make them happen the way they were supposed to.'' Answered Bart. ''We need to recreate the fight that was supposed to happen.''

''We're going to need more than that.'' Said Julian.

''If I tell you everything that's about to unfold, it might cause more changes in the timeline. I need you to follow my lead and trust me.''

Despite the youngest speedster's good words and the earlier proof that letting Barry die wasn't an option for him, Harry was still looking suspiciously at the man. Somethings he said about each of them didn't sound right.

''If you're from that far in the future, how do you know so much about us? How are you supposed to know all the details of that fight?''

Before Bart could defend himself, they heard something, or more like someone suddenly tumbling down the stairs, instantly follow by the sound of two people loudly arguing. Wait, was it? It sure sounded like…

''Stay with Allen.'' Commanded Harry to Iris, not that he really needed to ask before turning to Wally ''And you, don't let him out of your sight, no matter what.'' He added, pointing at the young speedster.

Walking outside the door, trailed by Julian, the Earth 2 scientist closed on Joe's position as the detective had stopped halfway in his quest to go grab a wet cloth to watch a surprising scene unfold in the staircase. No need to keep on worrying for Cisco; the scientist apparently appeared moments ago out of thin air and right into Iris and Barry's loft alongside the Earth 19's bounty hunter; Gipsy.

''Hum…guys?'' Said Joe at the first chance he got to place a word in the two young people's argument.

Turning his head around, Cisco gasped and loudly breathed out in shock. ''Oh my god! I thought something happened to you guys. Two-faces told me you guys were dead! '' He exclaimed, looking at Joe, Harry, Julian and even Wally who was advancing to join the group, moving closer with a young figure by his side with familiar features and brown hairs.

Wait a second, why was Barry wearing this…wait. That's not Barry. How did his mind could've mistaken his best friend for this other person, even for a fraction of a second?

''Who are you? '' He asked on the defensive as he was scanning the room once more. Doing so, he felt his chest tightening with a bad feeling, the same one he had when Savitar announced he took care of many problems. There were people missing, two people.

''Where's Iris?'' He inquired, in fear. ''And Barry?'' He added, a lump in the throat. The silence and worried expression that stared back at him did nothing to ease that feeling.

*****FLASHFLASHFLASH*****

''If Barry Allen dies, it's the whole future that's in danger.'' Repeated Bart, pressing the matter.

''You keep saying that, but how about telling us what we're supposed to do. Just tell us how the next events were supposed to happen.'' Answered Harry who was rapidly losing his patience.

As he spoke, Harry looked down at his right as The Flash groaned on the bed and shy away from the contact of the wet cloth on his burning skin. They all explained the situation to Cisco and escorted him into the bedroom so he could see for himself the repercussions of Savitar's actions.

''Shhh...it's ok.'' Whispered Iris, following his motion to keep the cloth against his forehead as she was barely listening with one ear to the conversation going on. Barry's temperature was up by another degree and he still had to give any sign of waking up or that he was even aware of his environment.

''All of this started when Barry went to the future at Christmas 2016 and all his actions following that moment were with the events he saw in his mind, trying to prevent them from happening. Trying to keep the future intact, if I was to tell you everything, is just as dangerous. '' Tried to explain the red and white speedster for the hundredth time.

There wasn't a lot of time to waste before Savitar and Killer Frost would go out in that field. The team needed to move, soon.

''Isn't that what you're doing? Trying to keep the future intact.'' Pointed out Cisco. ''Might as well fill us in.''

Cisco was right on that one…

'''I guess it is what I'm doing right now, but I had absolutely no other choice. You have no idea how wrong things will get in the future and how many lives will be affected if Barry doesn't make it. And I'm not just talking about the lives of the people he'll save directly.''

''Your life included.'' Stressed out Julian, his arms crossed on his chest and suspiciously checking out the speedster like he was pondering his options and whether they should trust him or not.

''Yeah, me included.'' Said Bart.

''Can we have a moment, alone?'' Requested Cisco, mysteriously.

Seeing nobody had any objection, the engineer led the other speedster outside of Barry's room, closing the door behind and walking in the living room.

''What's going on?'' Asked Bart as soon as they were out of eavesdrop distance.

''Why do you care so much? And-'' He added the last word as Bart was opening his mouth to say something. ''Don't you dare tell me it's because of some noble, preserving the future, kind of goal. Or because you just want to save yourself. If you really know about us, you know about me and you know about my powers. I can vibe more than people and events, I can vibe feelings too now. And you know what I'm vibing about you, even without my goggles? That you really want to help, that you're worried and that you care, but not just about yourself, about Barry. Why is that?''

Bart sighed.

''I didn't lie about who I was and the time period I come from…I just didn't tell you everything.''

''That's called lying by omission.'' Pointed out Cisco, not flinching. ''We don't know you, we don't even know your last name, and we have no reason to trust you. And yet, you come here asking us to put our lives, Barry's life, into your hand. You got to give us more than that.''

Cisco was right on that one. On all his points. Fine. If there was no getting out of this, especially not without wasting way too much valuable time. Clenching his fists and taking a deep breath, the younger speedster carefully chose his next words:

''It's very important that what we'll discuss in the next minutes will stay between us. I mean it.'' Requested Bart, a dead serious look on his face. ''People should know their own future, we've all seen the consequences of Barry travelling forward to this day.''

''Just spill it.'' Despite the eagerness in his tone, Cisco still nodded gravely.

''My full name is….Bartholemeow Henry Allen II.'' He finally admitted.

''Barthol…'' Slowly repeated Cisco, his eyes widening in sudden understanding, pointing Barry's room. ''You're his...'' His what? Descendant? Son? That guy from the 30th century couldn't Barry's son. Nor anything closely related.

''I'm his grandson actually.'' Said Bart, looking straight in his interlocutor's eyes.

''You can't be...How's that even possible? You're from too far into the future.'' Cisco slowly shook his head in disbelief. His life was so much simpler before meeting Barry, his best friend with a grandson from the 30th century who time traveled here to fix the future.

Is Barry going to fast forward centuries into the future? And will he...no, he wouldn't save some very, very grateful woman with the need to thank him. That would be more like Oliver style if he ever was to travel in time.

''Is Iris...'' He started before he could stop himself. He couldn't stop, he needed to know more, Cisco just couldn't help getting overly excited despite the grim circumstances.

''Yes, she is. I'm Barry and Iris' grandson. You happy?'' Bart answered with a barely controlled eye-rolled. He never thought he would live the day he was going to meet someone more enthusiastic than himself.

''How? Just...how?''

''It's a long story that I can't share if I don't want to risk the future more than it had already been….but look, we need to act now before there's no more future for me to change.

''Fine.'' Cisco took one deep breath, Bart was right; they needed to focus on saving Barry first. ''Do you have a plan?'' He asked, his mind instantly switching back to business.

''I do. Let me use Barry's suit, I can take his place in the fight. ''

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment :)


	3. VS Savitar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team and Bart team up against Savitar

''You're serious?'' Finally spoke up Cisco, stunned, after a moment of silence. ''You're just going to jump in Barry's suit and come join us on the battlefield?''

''Yeah, pretty much.'' Instantly answered back Bart, casually shrugging and causing Cisco to chuckle. It sounded so easy when say like that. Except, there was still one big problem with that plan.

''So, what? Let's say we do fight Savitar in the same way it was supposed to unfold, how is that going to help us save Barry's life? It's the fragments of the Philosopher's stone in his back that are killing him, not Savitar. Whether we win or lose won't do him much good. ''

The question didn't faze the young speedster who obviously already had his answer ready. Of course he did, the speedster wouldn't have come all the way from the 30th century without a plan.

''For that, we'll use the Speedforce Bazooka that you modified to trick Savitar intro freeing Jay instead of making him a God.'' Answered Bart, like it was somehow answering the question.

For a second, Cisco instinctively stiffened; how did that guy knew about that...oh right. He's from the future. Time travels are so confusing and hard to keep up with… Where was Bart heading to? How was the Bazooka supposed to be the answer?

''We do?''

''We just need to take the bazooka back from Savtar and bring it back here so I can do a couple of modifications. Once they're done, we can save Barry.'' He stated with assurance.

Oh yeah, completely easy; put Barry's grandson in the suit, let the speedsters fight, take down Killer Frost, hopefully without killing her, and take back the Bazooka before using it on Barry. Frost...Caitlin. Just thinking about her almost prompted Cisco to ask a thousand questions about her future. Was she going to be ok? Were they supposed to kill her? Or was she destined to rot in jail for the rest of her life, evil and way past the point of no return? No, he couldn't ask. Bart was right; they shouldn't know too much about their future.

''Alright, I'm putting my life and all my trust in your hands. What's the plan?'' Finally agreed Cisco, after taking a deep breath. Let's concentrate on the mission, on Savitar and on saving Barry. Caitlin will need to come after all of that was done.

''You won't regret it'' Said Bart, smiling.

 _'I sure hope so.'_  Thought Cisco, extending his arm to shake on it while glancing back at the closed door that was hiding his badly injured and dying friend.  _'You'll be ok, man, I'll make sure of it._ ' He mentally promised to the speedster.

If saving Barry meant trusting his grandson from the future, so be it.

*****FLASHFLASHFLASH*****

''Garrick, how did you-'' Angrily growled Savitar when the older speedster stopped his run next to the tree line, smiling defiantly.

''He didn't. I did.'' Answered Cisco instead, slowly approaching in full Vibe attire while walking with confidence in front of Gipsy, Wally and Bar...Bart. The young man had taken off his white and red suit and opted for the red version of the Scarlett Speedster's one, Barry's costume. ''By changing the polarity of the climbing arc, I changed your Speed Force splicer into a Speed Force skeleton key. ''

In the Flash outfit, unless you were to examine really closely, the resemblance between Bart and his grandfather was uncanny. Even under the bright light of Barry's apartment the team had to double look when the traveler from the future dressed up in it. It was a wonder nobody made the connection, or even started raising questions, especially considering how Cisco kept his lips tightly shut about the chat he had with the young man.

Bart wasn't sure how he was feeling right now about wearing this suit and pretending to be his grandfather. He felt like an imposter. Well, technically he was one. Barry Allen was a legend in his timeline and Bart didn't feel like he earned the right to wear his grandfather's outfit just yet. Except, right now, he had no chance.

''Didn't thi-'' Tried to add Cisco, but he was interrupted when Savitar scanned Vibe's allies and he finally spotted, standing in back of everyone else, the red suit.

''You're still alive, how?!'' Roared Savitar in clear surprise and overwhelming anger. Next to him, Killer Frost's eyes opened up in disbelief; clearly, her boss was able to convince her he ended Barry's life. For just a second, Cisco could've sworn he saw relief in the Ice Queen's face as she was observing _Barry_ still standing. Maybe there was still hope for her. ''How's that possible? I killed you!'' Added Savitar with disdain in every word.

''You should've known better than anyone else how hard we are to be taken down.'' Replied Bart, vibrating his voice so his opponents wouldn't instantly spot his masquerade.

Except, the simple fact he wasn't using his normal voice here, surrounded by people who all knew The Flash's real identity was enough to raise suspicions. Even Jay turned around and glanced at the speedster, before moving his attention to the rest of the group. Shaking his head in an almost imperceptible way, Vibe calmed Earth's 2 suspicious for the moment.  _Not now. Don't ask_.

''Let's end this.'' Said Wally, stepping up in front of Bart before their adversary had the time to examine the red speedster a little closer.

''Go!'' Screamed Caitlin, powering up her ice powers. All the goodness VIbe thought he saw in her moments ago was gone again. She was back at defending her new friend, her new boss.

No need to be told twice, in the next instant Savitar was gone and he was sprinting away in the darkness with the three other sprinters at his heels.

 _'I'm not ready for this.'_ Fearfully thought Bart, sprinting over the grass and dodging trees while trying his best to keep up not only with Savitar, but also with both Jay and Wally. Never had he, in his young speedster life, run like this. Especially not under all of that pressure. His lungs were starting to burn, but he didn't stop; he kept on going. Barry's life was depending on him and his grandson wasn't going to let him down. He could do this. He could and he was going to...

Suddenly, the next thing Bart felt was a strong energy and lightning wave hitting the forest floor and sending him flying away, sending his head harshly connecting the ground. Upon impact, everything almost went blank and white dots obscured his vision, making it impossible to see a thing. No, he couldn't lose. Was this how everything happened in the first time? Or was he letting down the present...and the future?

 _'Get up, Bart. Get up.'_  Repeated his brain to all of his painful muscles as he was feeling his weakened limps shaking under the effort. Everything was so silent suddenly, was he dead? Forcing his eyes to open –wait, when did he even closed them to begin with? - Bart scanned his surroundings and instantly spotted both Jay and Wally sprawled on the ground, motionless.

_'Oh God, how long have I been here? Did I lost consciousness? Are Cisco and Gipsy alive? What about Barry?'_

''Come on, you idiot.'' He verbally corrected himself, Barry had to still be alive. The fact that Bart, his grandson, was still standing was proof of that. Unless...Unless history just didn't have time to correct itself, like it was still correcting Savitar's existence. Checking up on the other motionless speedsters would need to wait as Bart jumped to his feet, stumbling a few steps in the process before regaining his balance, and started running back to where they started. His instincts were screaming at him to return where he left the rest of his friends with Killer Frost, it had to be the place where the fight was going to continue… and end.

 _'Please, be all ok.'_  He silently prayed.

There! Savitar was straight ahead, just like he anticipated. On top of that, at the corner of his eyes, he saw them. Cisco. Gipsy. They were both on their feet, standing, and was that Killer Frost standing next to Vibe? How did this- No, no time for this.

 _'_ _Eyes on the ball. Stay focused, man. Eyes on the ball.'_  He reminded himself and just in time too to dodge the arm coming his way by sliding in the fresh and slippery grass under his feet.

What was the next important thing Barry did at that point? Oh right! He destroyed the suit.

 _'_ _Come on, Bart. Stay focused, don't wander off the path.'_  He told himself, turning around on his heels at lightning speed and phasing straight in his adversary's suit, pushing him out of it and on the ground.

''It's over, Savitar. Give it up!'' He shouted.

''Never!'' Growled back the other speedster. ''If I'm going to die, I'm taking all of you along with me!''

Without wasting more saliva on another word, the evil speedsters rushed forward with all his might and hatred toward what he thought was his younger self. Punching, charging, kicking…no matter what the evil time remnant was attempting, Bart was ready for every move. Like a true descendant of the legendary Barry Allen, Bart dodged and counterstrike every action until he literally had his opponent on his knees.

''This end, NOW!'' Playtime was over.

''As long as I have any breath in me, this will never be over!'' Boomed the Future Flash, shaking with overwhelming hate.

 _'_ _As you wish.'_ Thought Bart, time to end this once and for all and save the timeline, alongside with his grandfather. Or maybe it was the other way around. Doesn't matter, it was going to be over.

Before Bart even realized what he was doing, the blade of the suit was out and aiming straight for the fallen hero who was surprisingly smiling at the turn of events:

''If you kill me, you become me. Either way, I live! '' He shouted, triumphant.

 _'_ _Yeah, but not really, pal.'_  Thought Bart inside the suit, smiling, Savitar had no idea at the moment who was about to kill him. For one moment, while tightening his grip on his grandfather's time remnant, Bart got tempted to actually go ahead and end the evil man's life. Savitar was a monster, after all, and there was no risk anymore of Barry becoming this  _thing_  in the future. Plus, it was without mentioning that Bart already knew how close to death he would come if he was to let his opponent on the ground and turn his back on him.

Maybe, just maybe, it was the right course of action. After all, considering how the time remnant only had a few more moments of life, what difference would it make to end his life on the spot, right now?

As he was about to strike, Bart looked up only to see Caitlin and Cisco on the side, intensely watching what was unfolding. Yeah, sure, killing Savitar might not have any impact on the timeline, but what the impact on Barry's friends? Cisco might be aware the man under the red mask wasn't his best friend, but he sure didn't have the face of someone who thought Barry's grandson was the kind of person willing to murder someone else in cold blood…Right next to the engineer, Caitlin'ss eyes were widening in doubt and horror; from her point of view, it was Barry who was about to kill another version of himself. He couldn't do this.

No, he couldn't do it. He was no murderer.

''No. I won't do it.'' He firmly said, punching Savitar with everything he had. ''That's not who Barry Allen is, ever was or ever will be.'' He stated, just enough for him and the man down to hear, vibrating 'til there was no metallic suit anymore.

Doubt was still creeping in his mind, what if he made the slightest modifications to the timeline, just enough to give Savitar the chance to end his life before being shot dead by Iris? All the evil speedster would need was one extra fraction of a second. Bart needed to have faith. It was with closed eyes that he turned around and started walking toward Barry's friends, toward his destiny, whether it was going to be dying on the spot or ending his mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: leave a comments :)
> 
> I wrote this a little quicker than I usually do. I hope you won't mind and that it doesn't feel too rushed. I wanted to have time to work on the other stories
> 
> I hope the chapter wasn't too much of just re-writing the final fight against Savitar. Sorry if it was, coming back to Barry in the next chapter. And maybe Bart and barry's moment if I don't kill Bart *Evil laugh*


	4. I'll see you around

In reality, the next events might have unfolded in mere seconds, or maybe even less than that, but they felt like an eternity for the young speedster who saw and felt everything at slow motion. Everything was happening at the slowest of motion, even for a speedster, knowing he was possibly about to get brutally murder by the evil time remnant of his grandfather. He could hear the rush of wind coming from behind him as he knew Savitar was charging his way toward him with no good intentions. Suddenly, pain erupted in Bart's back, prompting his feet to stop moving and forcing a particularly loud groan of pain to pass his lips. The sound of a gun firing and the grunt of pain of the time remnant were all lost to Bart as the pain was radiating in his back and was spreading in his whole body, quickly sending him on his knees.

"Bart!" Screamed voices all over, completed by Frost's own cry of distress.

"Barry! No!" Screeched Killer Frost, or was that Caitlin, rushing forward.

Reaching the young speedster first, Cisco went down on his knees and slid in the fresh grass, all the way to the fallen hero. Grabbing Bart's shoulders, he hurriedly laid him down as Iris was already by their side and working on taking off the red cowl. The instant the speedster features got uncovered, Caitlin stopped in her motion as she was also about to go down to assist, freezing in confusion.

"I don't..." she stuttered as she took into account the young man's features.

Who was that? How did he end up in Barry's suit? Was Barry ok or... Savitar did say he took care of some problems. Was Barry? No, he couldn't. Her question went unanswered as everyone's attention was glued on the person on the ground. They only spared a glance, only one, to look at the fallen Savitar as the evil speedster was evaporating into thin air. One less, huge, thing to take care of, but they couldn't celebrate just yet while Bart was injured, and Barry was dying in his apartment.

"Thank God," breathed out Cisco when he noticed that the young man on the ground was still breathing, despite his eyes being tightly closed.

"Bart?" Asked Iris, gently, yet urgently approaching the still form and touching his cheek, "are you with us?"

Cisco bit his lips as he watched the scene happening in front of his eyes. Guilt was forming a lump in his throat as the moment reminded him of the secret he was keeping from the rest of the team about the real identity of this new, young, hero.

"Thi... n... nk... so," weakly grumbled the form on the ground while Bart slowly cracked his eyes open.

"Can I?" Inquired Kill... no, that's Caitlin's voice behind the group. It truly sounded like her, it wasn't all distorted and  _cold_  anymore.

Iris turned to Cisco, silently asking his opinion about how secure it was to let her anywhere near the injured hero.

"She saved my life," whispered Cisco as he assisted the speedster into putting himself in a seated position by keeping a strong hand behind Bart's back to support him. In the meantime, Iris took off the top part of the red suit, exposing the bluish skin.

Once the Ice metahuman had positioned herself behind her patient, she started probing the area, staying deaf to the grunts of pain.

"I can't be certain without scans, but it looks like Savitar missed your organs by a split second, tough you probably have some internal bleeding."

"I'll heal," Bart answered back, grunting between his teeth as he pushed the hands away and struggled to get back on his feet, staggering like an old drunk.

"Hey, hey, easy there," reassured Cisco, doing his best to stabilize his friend's grandson. In his chest, he could feel his own heart still pumping hard under the adrenaline of the fight and of that close call. What do you do if the secret grandson of your best friend dies under your watch? Do you keep the secret forever? Do you tell him and ruin all the good future moments he was supposed to have with his descendant? Thankfully, it looked like the speedster was going to make it...if they were able to come back to Barry in time.

"Anyone mind explaining what's going on?" Jay eventually asked, frowning as he observed the whole scene.

"I'm goo-ARG," the scream hadn't even left the lips that Bart's right hand went directly to his chest with his glove scratching his naked chest like he was trying to dig right to his heart.

The next moment, his weak legs betrayed him, almost sending him face crashing again if it wasn't for Cisco and Caitlin hurrying to stabilize the man.

"Easy, man. Take your time," Cisco reassured again, rubbing the new hero's back.

"There's no time to lose," he said, between two quick, struggling, breathes, "it's Barry. We need to hurry, he's dying."

*****FLASHFLASHFLASH*****

"Are you really sure you want to leave right now? At least wait 'til Barry is awake. Come say hi and greet him," argued Cisco, standing in the kitchen of Barry and Iris' loft and right in front of Bart who was back in his own speedster suit.

After the fight, after finally defeating Savitar, they grabbed the Speedforce bazooka and rushed back to the apartment as fast as possible. Well, almost all of them since Frost decided to stay behind, unable to face the whole team after everything she'd done.

Thanks to Bart's knowledge of the future and Cisco's skills, they managed to modify the weapon in less than half an hour and used it on the wounded and dying man, destroying every trace of the Philosopher's Stone from Barry's bloodstream. Or, that's what they were all hoping since the hero was still unconscious. At least, Bart had stopped phasing in and out of existence and his pain was gone, so that was a good sign that his grandfather was on his way to recovery. All they could do now was sit there and wait, which is exactly what Julian, Joe, Wally, and Iris were doing currently in Barry's room.

In the meantime, Cisco and Bart took the time to walk away from the group to get another private chat after the young man expressed his intention of leaving and going back home.

"It's not my timeline, I have to go now that my mission is over."

"You're certain Barry will be ok? We might still need you," tried Cisco, needing for some irrational reason to see the two men getting the chance to meet and talk.

"Barry will be fine, I can feel it. I don't feel any pain anymore, so don't worry," reassured the young speedster, smiling, even though his smile seemed bittersweet and forced like the young person was clearly second guessing his decision to go without meeting his grandfather. Was he afraid of messing with the timeline? Or did he know something about the future that was too painful to face...?

"Alright," sighed Cisco in defeat.

"Don't worry about that either, I'll be seeing him around soon enough, with time," added Bart, winking deviously.

"Just...just be careful, ok?" Said Cisco, understanding that there was no changing the speedster's mind, ''And, thank you again for what you did, we wouldn't have been able to fix the timeline without you."

"Couldn't let myself get erased from history, could I?" Joked Bart, smiling playfully. Without warning, he jumped forward and trapped Cisco into a the tightest of hug, causing the other man to expel all his lung's air under the crushing impact, "you take care of my grand-dad," the speedster added before releasing the engineer.

"I will, don't worry," he assured, nodding. Not that he needed an official request from a visitor from the future to look out after Barry; he made it his personal mission since they became friend.

Reassured, Bart nodded and started to turn around, ready to zip away and disappear back to his timeline. His movement caused Cisco to quickly reach out with his hand and grab his arm, trying to stop him as a question stuck him:

"Wait! Are we going to see each other again? When you're younger I mean, in our future and your past?"

"Perhaps," enigmatically answered back Bart before zipping away.

*****FLASHFLASHFLASH*****

"I'm not a hero like you"

"You've always been my hero."

It wasn't supposed to happen, barely a couple of hours ago they were saving Barry's life and they were by his bedside telling him everything was over and that he was safe. It wasn't over and despite the Speedforce assurance that Barry wasn't going to hell, no one knew for sure if he was going to be safe from harm.

All of Cisco's muscles were badly shaking as his friend, his departing best friend was wrapping his arms around his shaking body. He might have only met Barry two and a half years ago, but it was feeling like they have known each other forever and he couldn't imagine his life without his brother. Especially after losing Dante earlier this year.

As Barry walked serenely toward the breach, looking at peace with his decision, Cisco felt a whole new feeling washing over him, he felt almost... peaceful. Why was that? Watching Barry turning his back on them all, for an instant, Cisco could see Bart instead. Yeah, Bart, Bart was the proof that they shouldn't lose hope; the speedster existence meant that Barry will eventually return to have a child... or maybe more. They needed to be strong and there was no telling if it was going to take 2 weeks or 10 years, but he was going to be back.

"I'll see you around, brother," he whispered.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go, don't be shy and leave a final comment
> 
> I know I didn't put the scene of Barry waking up, but after writing so many of those in so many stories, I wanted to do something different for a change. I hope you still enjoyed the ending and that story in general. Thanks a LOT for reading and sticking 'til the end. Wish I could hug as tight as possible everyone who took the time to leave a comment, you guys are amazing and I honestly wouldn't keep on writing without you.


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